Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #426

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she's taking three advanced placement courses. "So my sleep cycle has just sort of become this night-owl life, and it's just kind of the new normal."
A nap can't substi- tute for a good night's sleep, but it certainly can help, says Dr. Nitun Verma, a sleep spe- cialist and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
A short nap for a teenager "can give a boost to memory and attention during the day, and it can increase school per- formance," he says, adding that in a per- fect world, schools would roll back their start times.
As it is now, the average school starts at 7:30 in the morning while the start timerecom- mended by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is 8:30 a.m. or later. On top of that, teens' circa- dian rhythms work against them — coaxing them to stay up late and then sleep late. So they
are already sleep- deprived and "wak- ing up much earlier than normal," Verma says.
Several public schools in New Mexico are trying to tackle the problem by providing napping pods for their stu- dents.
"We know lack of sleep changes mood and makes you more anxious," says family nurse practitioner Linda Summers, who is an associate professor at New Mexico State University's school of nursing in Las
Cruces.
Summers also works with the near- by Las Cruces High School health cen- ter, and has seen firsthand the effects of sleep deprivation on students there. So she decided to apply for a federal health grant to buy the pods, which, at the time, cost $14,000 each. They were installed in four high schools.
And while the Las Cruces school nap- ping pods were bought to remedy sleep deprivation, Summers says, "it
also turns out to be good for anger and stress."
Even if kids don't fall asleep, but simply "zone out," she says, they emerge saying they feel "refreshed and calm." This led Summers to embark on a study looking at the emotional impact of pods.
She recruited stu- dents who reported feeling "agitated or upset about some- thing," and had them describe their feel- ings before and after spending 20 minutes in the pod.
"They all felt more rested, happier and more in control of their emotions," she says, "after just 20 minutes." Summers now writes prescrip- tions for the nap pod for students who are anxious, angry or just plain sleepy.
The findings haven't been published yet, but they have been accepted for publi- cation by a peer- reviewed journal. Summers says the teachers and school nurses she works with already see the pods as a big suc- cess. Each capsule
is sort of a "thera- peutic study hall," she says, that helps students focus bet- ter when they're in the classroom.
Vanderkooy recalls falling asleep in one of her classes and being told by her teacher that she "really, really" need- edtogotakeanap.
"I came back and I was awake and attentive," she says, able to take out her notes and proceed — "just like a normal class."
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